thingamabob
noun
thingamabob is spelled T-H-I-N-G-A-M-A-B-O-B: 11 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 68 million words in written English, the 258,950th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, thingamabob means “A thing or person whose actual name is unknown or forgotten” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of thingamabob is thingamabobs.
How many letters and syllables are in thingamabob?
| Letters | 11: T-H-I-N-G-A-M-A-B-O-B |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 68 million words; the 258,950th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is thingamabob?
Thingamabob appears about once in every 68 million words in written English, the 258,950th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce thingamabob?
- Australia
Thingamabob has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-thingamabob.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of thingamabob
- thingamabobs plural
- thingamabobber
- thingamybob
- thingmabob
- thingumabob
- thingumbob
- thingumebob
- thingummabob
- thingummybob
- thingymabob
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does thingamabob mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
slangA thing or person whose actual name is unknown or forgotten.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Thingamabob in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense placeholder word:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | truc, machin, bidule |
| German | Dingsbums, Dingsda |
| Portuguese | negócio |
| Spanish | cosa, coso, chingadera |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does thingamabob come from?
Alteration of thingumbob: obsolete thingum (from thing) + bob. Earliest citation from 1751, as thingumbobs.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).